Ford stock fell more than 7% to $11.82 in early trading on Tuesday following reports that a fire at a New York aluminium plant operated by Novelis may disrupt production at several automakers, including Ford, for months.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the shutdown of output from the Oswego facility is going to disrupt business at Ford Motor and other automakers for months to come.
The Atlanta-based Novelis plant, one of the largest aluminium suppliers in the U.S. automotive industry, produces roughly 40% of the aluminium sheet used by car manufacturers nationwide.
The impact is particularly severe for Ford, Novelis’ largest customer. The automaker’s flagship F-150 pickup truck, a key profit driver, relies heavily on aluminium supplied by the Oswego facility.
Ford transitioned the F-150’s body from steel to aluminium nearly a decade ago to reduce weight and improve fuel efficiency.
“This represents a serious question for the production of F-150 because that’s the aluminium that comes out of Oswego,” said Kaustubh Chandorkar, an aluminium-industry analyst cited by The Wall Street Journal.
Sources familiar with the situation told the publication that Ford may issue an investor warning about the supply disruption when it releases its third-quarter results on October 23.
Novelis, a subsidiary of India’s Hindalco Industries, confirmed that a significant portion of the Oswego plant has been offline since the September 16 fire and is expected to remain so until early 2026.
The company said that operations at the facility’s hot mill are projected to resume by the first quarter of 2026.
Ford stated it is working closely with Novelis to manage the situation. “Since the fire nearly three weeks ago, Ford has been working closely with Novelis, and a full team is dedicated to addressing the situation and exploring all possible alternatives to minimize any potential disruptions,” the company said in a statement.
Novelis produces over 350,000 metric tons of aluminium sheet annually for the automotive industry, serving clients such as Toyota, Hyundai, Volkswagen, and Jeep-maker Stellantis.
Toyota said its supply-chain team is “all over this” and is engaging with alternate suppliers, while Stellantis and Hyundai also confirmed mitigation measures are underway.
Shares of auto parts suppliers BorgWarner and Lear Corp fell 4.6% and 2.3%, respectively, as investors grew concerned about wider disruptions across the auto supply chain.
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